Frenchman Denied Entry to U.S. Base Festival

The Japan Times is running an article about a Frenchman who is angry that he was denied entry to the Open Base Bon Odori Festival at the U.S. Navy Negishi Housing Complex:

But not everyone is welcome to these biannual events — perhaps surprising considering the international character of Yokohama. Eric Fior, 37, a French teacher living in Yokohama, has been denied entry to the event two years in a row.

“Two and three years ago they let me enter; only last summer they didn’t let me in,” he explains. “You need to show your ID to enter the base. I showed my ‘gaijin card’ to them at the gate. When they looked at the card they said I couldn’t enter. I asked why and he said, ‘Because you’re French.’

“They said there are new rules and French people cannot enter. I asked why and he didn’t give a reason.”

After being denied entry to last year’s event, the guy in the Japan Times article probably should have checked ahead of time to see if he would have been allowed into this year’s event. He didn’t. Instead, he showed up at the gate and was once again denied entry. He tried to argue with the guards, but they escorted him off the grounds of the complex.

It turns out that France is one of the many countries on the U.S. military’s restricted TCN list. The list contains other important U.S. military allies such Singapore, Israel, and Peru. NATO members Albania and Croatia are on the list too, as are several partner nations of NATO. People of nationalities on the list are not totally banned from entering U.S. military bases, they just have to apply in advance if they want to enter the grounds of a U.S. base.

The article tells readers that there is no indication that some nationalities might be turned down at the gate:

“There’s no indication beforehand that some groups aren’t allowed on,” he adds. “This part of Yokohama is very international. I have friends around here from all over the world: Ghanaian, Tunisian, American. I don’t see any problems in this community. If you come a long way for this event and you aren’t allowed in, then you simply have to go home.”

Some Googling found that other Friendship Day events on U.S. Military events often give advance warning that not all nationalities can show up on the day of the event and get in:

If you are not a U.S. or Japanese citizen and would like to attend the festival, call the Public Affairs Office at 042-552-2511 for additional information. [2010 Yokota Friendship Day Festival]

And a few notices could be found written in Japanese:

日本・アメリカ国国籍以外の方のご参加に関しては、現地にて断られる場合がございます。 [Yokosuka Navy Day Festival ]

根岸米軍基地親善フレンドシップデー 2010年4月24日(土）12：00～19：00
雨天：4月25日同時刻開催 場所：根岸米軍ハイツコミュニテイーセンター周辺
問い合せ：根岸米軍基地福利厚生課担当・・045-281-4120・・（日本語でも可のようですがもちろん得意の米語でも）

と記載されていますが・・ピストル下げた衛兵というか・・ガードマンというか・・守衛というか・・が日本語で説明するところでは、当日はゲームやバンドライブや飲料などイベントが準備され、一応誰でも受け入れるようですが・・受け入れない国籍の人も有りうるので、パスポート（ビザは必要ないようです）or免許証or住民基本台帳など身分証明できるもの持参したほうがよいのでは・・荷物のセキュリテイチェックという制限もあるそうです・・ゲートの中には日本大使館や領事館はなさそうですからご留意ください！ [Negishi Housing Complex Friendship Day]

I could find a few online notices about the specific event mentioned in the Japan Times article, but most seemed followed the format below, leaving out a warning about certain nationalities being subject to tighter security restrictions:

45th U.S. Navy Negishi Bon Odori Festival

The U.S. Navy Negishi Housing will celebrate its annual Bon Odori Festival. It is an open gate festival. A full day of activities and entertainment is planned including the performance by the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Band and local Japanese band, both American and Japanese food/souvenir stands, Bon dance, and more!

■Date&Time: August 21 (Sat) 2010 1500-2100 (Rain date is following day, same time)
■Venue: Negishi U.S. Navy Housing Area, Community Center Parking Lot
■Access:
1. From JR Negishi Line Negishi Station: City bus #21 (towards Sakuragi-cho) off at “Asahidai”, 8min. walk
2. From Yokohama Station: City bus #103 (towards Negishidai) off at Negishidai, 1min. walk.
■Fee: Free
■Inquiries: (045) 281-4120 or (045)281-4101

●Note:
1. No personal vehicles allowed (please use public transportation)
2. Baggage checks will be conducted
3. ID check may be required. Please bring a valid photo ID, either Driver’s License with permanent address, Passport, Alien Registration Card or Resident Card. For middle school/high school students, please bring student ID. Children under 12 are not required any ID.
4. The entry may be limited depends on the circumstances.

Point #4 might be interpreted as a warning to other nationalities, but it’s too vague to be helpful to anyone. A promotional poster for the event also does not include information about restricted nationalities.

To avoid this kind of bad press, the Navy should have followed Yokota Airbase’s example and used an announcement that clearly notifies non-Japanese that they should check about entry restrictions.

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